Sports and Spirits

A weekly podcast that takes you into the biggest sports events of the week and what you should be drinking with them. Product reviews and ratings.
Matt East and Hank Allen have a combined 30 years experience in broadcast television. We're using that experience to bring you the latest news and topics in the world of sports and to highlight some of the great spirits in the United States and abroad. It's a little sports, spirits, and travel all in one place!
Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to listen.

We are just a week away from the New Orleans Bourbon Festival! Join us as we talk with founder Tracy Napolitano on how much it has grown and what you can expect this year. It's amazing in year number 4 where this has gone.

Great interview this week! One of our favorite products out there. We sit down with Neil Strachan of The Balvenie. This is from Tales of the Cocktail a few months back but some great info on some new whisky they have out. A little different from what you're used too. That comes after a brief Super Bowl Recap.

It's Super Bowl weekend! We are back with our latest show to get you set for the game and surrounding fun. We'll give you our thoughts on the game and make our picks. Then bring in Raphael Esparza at 28:00 for all the betting insights you need. Then at 43:00 we talk with Chef Isaac Toups and the NFL's Party with a Purpose.

Back with a big show this week. Great interview from Tales of the Cocktail with Edoardo Branca of Fernet Branca. Then our analysis of college football conference championship weekend and playoff scenarios. Plus NFL thoughts, random Star Wars discussion, and the usual shenanigans.

We back! After a hiatus due to various life circumstances Hank and Matt are back with a new show. After a quick re-introduction we go right to our feature spirit of the week, Knappogue Castle Irish Whiskey.

It's a brand we weren't too familiar with but it is great. We sit down with Philip Duff, Brand Ambassador, at Tales of the Cocktail to learn more.

After that we're talking NCAA and NFL football. Just a couple weeks left in college, get our thoughts on the playoff standings.

We're back! After a brief hiatus thanks to Matt's many travels the show is back this week. We continue our Tales of the Cocktail content with some great stuff from Don Q Rum. Global Ambassador Alexx Mouzouris tells us all about the brand and walks us through the many different offerings.

Big show this week! What happens when you combine Metallica music, whiskey, and one of the best master distillers out there? Blackened Whiskey. It's really good, and the story of how it's made is even better. We talk with Rob Dietrich about the project and what makes it special.

After that we talk about the first weekend of college football. It's so good to say that!

Nathan joins Hank this week as Matt continues his west coast road trip. We have a great interview off the top of the show just a couple minutes in. Vance Henderson of Monkey Shoulder Whisky joins us to talk about the product and his background becoming a brand ambassador. Hank gets his first taste of the blended whisky as well. That's from Tales of the Cocktail.

After that Nathan and Hank talk some MLB standings and who we like going forward, early season college football rankings, and NFL training camp news and thoughts.

We have a great interview for you this week! Woodford Reserve's Assistant Master Distiller Elizabeth McCall joins us to talk about their new release, Woodford Reserve Kentucky Straight Wheat Whiskey. This stuff tastes fantastic and we were one of the firsts to try it at Tales of the Cocktail. Get all the details about it plus hear her story of getting to where she is today.

After that we will dip in to some thoughts on the MLB trade deadline moves. The Astros seem like the winners, but who else impressed us? Plus Adam Aikens joins us and gives his playoff thoughts.

Review: Woodford Wheat is a really enjoyable whiskey. At 52% wheat you still get the complexity of the other grains when you taste it. Just enough rye to add a little spice. You pick up on the fruits, but also some vanilla and caramel. The aroma is heavy with bananas. We recommend this if you come across it.

Matt and Hank are back after a bit of a summer layoff. We start our Tales of the Cocktail coverage this year talking pisco (info below). Dänny Ronen stops by for a tasting and a ton of information. After that we discuss some MLB standings and give our thoughts on the start of NFL training camp. Don't forget, use promo code NOLA at Shaker and Spoon for a $10 discount!!!

* Peru’s national spirit

* It is made from only 8 grape varietals.

* There are three variants of Pisco: puro (single grape expression), acholado (blend of two or more grapes), and Mosto Verde (a style in which the juice of the pressed grapes is partially fermented).

* The Denomination of Origin it carries dictates that this grape-based brandy/grape-based distillate (like an unaged cognac) is distilled to proof with NOTHING added -- no water, no color, no wood aging.

* Pisco doesn’t age, it rests, in non-reactive vessels.

* About 8 lbs of grapes go into making a Puro or Acholado -- it takes 18 lbs of grapes to make a Mosto Verde style Pisco.

WHAT CAN YOU DO WITH PISCO?

* Make craft cocktail bar drinks in your own home with the Shaker & Spoon cocktail kit (www.shakerandspoon.com) -- use our special code Nola by July 31st and get $10 off the one box or even a whole subscription -- all you need is Shaker & Spoon's upcoming August "Pisco Fever" box, plus one 750mL bottle of Pisco, and you can create a 12-cocktail party (consisting of three different drinks from three different bartenders, including one from right here in NOLA)!

* Try a Chilcano -- delivers the Deep South/South American connection. The Chilcano is one of Peru’s four pillar cocktails and the South American cousin of a whiskey ginger (aka horse’s neck) -- it's a classic Highball, easy to make, just Pisco + ginger beer or ginger ale, splash of lime and a dash of bitters (Angostura or Amargo Chuncho if you can get them).

IF YOU MISSED THE PISCOTARIAN 2.0 EVENT AT TALES OF THE COCKTAIL...

...you can recreate one of the cocktails featured that day -- this one is by Tony Abou-Ganim (aka The Modern Mixologist) from Libertine Social in the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.

Big show this week as we sit down with Tripp Stimson, Director of Distillery Operations, of Barrell Bourbon. Great to talk with him about why Barrell is so popular. We get his insight into the bourbon world and whether they plan to distill their own products in the future.

After that we give our thoughts on the NBA free agency situation plus the MLB standings heading into July.

Exciting time of year in the sports world and this week we bring you a new product in the world of sports hydration. We speak with Anshuman Vohra, Founder of Halo Sport.

HALO is a premium, certified organic hydration beveragecarving a completely new category within the market, no longer requiring consumers to make the adherent choice between taste, nutritional benefit, and calories.

Happy Memorial Day! Big sports weekend, especially for race fans. We'll touch on that to start. Plus some thoughts on the NBA and NHL playoffs. Then after some holiday cocktail ideas Matt gives his thoughts on the Game of Thrones finale. Spoiler: he wasn't a fan.